Current Chair of the Political Science Department Professor Dan Rogers served as emcee, shown here reading the proclamation honoring Professor Butler, the first woman to earn tenure at Wabash.

Professor Rogers began: 'Rousseau is supposed to have said, 'The person who has lived the most is not the one who has lived the longest, but the one with the richest experiences.' If Professor Melissa Butler’s favorite philosopher was correct, then she has already lived more than most of us ever will: world traveler, Rousseau scholar, baseball pundit, Campari connoisseur, and perhaps most importantly, pioneering professor and administrator.

'In most things to which we her friends and colleagues aspire, Melissa has been there first, done it first, or thought it first and then graciously mentored, taught, inspired, and when necessary, gently prodded those around her to do their best.'